Newbie starting low for a Ceriatone 2204

[hopkinWFG]

nice talking to you.. and let us have the pics do justice till then. laters

[demonufo]

Forgot to answer the others...

Pots I generally just use Alpha, they're plenty good enough and easy to solder, although in my personal build I did use PEC's. Which was overkill really, but I've still got a lot of years ahead of me hopefully, and it's a lifetime amp, so I figured mil. spec was the way to go. Can't solder buss wire to the pot chassis though.

Jacks, just use Cliff jacks, but make sure you get them from a reputable source. There are a lot of really poor fakes out there and the switching pins don't make good contact in a very short space of time.

[hopkinWFG]

having all the quality parts and good soldering points how much difference in tone you could hear out comparing it to a pcb production marshall 2204? does stands out that well ?

[demonufo]

Minimal differences in all honesty, but the flexibility for change is vast. Transformers make the biggest change IMO, short of actual circuit changes. It is hard for me to compare directly, as my PCB amp was a late JCM800 version with higher voltages, although I did have a lower voltage 2104 combo for a short while, but this was before my build.

For me it wasn't about being better than a PCB amp as such, which is daft since the PCB amps can be pretty good anyway, it was more to do with flexibility of making circuit changes. And I'd ripped the guts out of my amp anyway, since it was originally a 1976 non-cascaded 2204, and was horrible. Rather than convert it, I decided to get a turretboard and start again, since it had other non-original parts anyway. I experimented with lots of different components on this board. I then decided to get yet another turretboard and do it again, once I'd mostly made my mind up about the circuit.

[hopkinWFG]

thanks...had valvestorm replied..

[neikeel]

http://forum.metroamp.com/memberlist.ph ... le&u=31495

Try a pm. In my experience Robert is usually very helpful.

[hopkinWFG]

thank you again neikeel... i see most of you guys are from england should have no problem sourcing out a 230V mains amp.. am from southeastasia thou singapore. nice meeting you two.

[hopkinWFG]

am currently sorting out electronic components and was thinking if i could uses all the way the best resistors thru out the 2204 build? am looking at carbon composite resistors... would there be any differences in tone affected ?

[neikeel]

Resistors are a subjective and personal thing!

My favourite resistors in these are the carbon film Pihers (Made in Spain) from the late 60s to early 80's. I also like using the Mustard caps as they are very smooth and predictable.
Many here are quite happy with Mallory 150 series caps or Sozos and the generic carbon film resistors from Valvestorm, they sound pretty good too.

The amp I generally gig with is Metro/Marstran 50w which can switch from 1987 to 2204 (see neil special on SDMs website) it does not have the PPIMV or loop like the amp layout on the site tho'. It uses the carbon films from Valvestorm/Metro except for the B+ dropping resistors which are 2w flame proof metal oxides and the screen resistors which are 1k 3w Welwyntype. I run Mullards in v1 to v3 and a pair of 70's Tesla EL34s. For me it is the perfect blend between vintage and modern and is very versatile.

[demonufo]

I don't recommend CC's in higher gain amps like these. Best stick with a good carbon film. Pihers are great if you have the money to find them all, but a more real world quality carbon film would be Koa Speer SPR2 for the 2 watts, and SPR1/2 for the half watts (strange that, eh! )

I love mustards but the price is now ridiculous, especially that of the .68uF's. I'd stick with Sozo's. I'm not keen on the Mallorys (Cornell Dubilier 150 series) as being metallized polyester film, rather than film/foil construction they do behave a little differently.

Another thing I should mention, is you may well prefer the vintage style presence circuit as seen on the Metroamp instructions for the 1959/1987 builds, rather than a 22K lin, 4.7K resistor and .1uF setup. Although it is scratchy in operation (it does have DC across the pot) it does sound better to my ears.

[hopkinWFG]

Have corresponded with Valvestorm and he is kind to show me a metroamp based 2204 without the PPIMV which i would like to just touch on the basic first.i would like to discuss on whats the best components on the turret board to go for? vintage or modern tone? i have no idea at the moment lol.....

the only amp i played is my 50CL by Fryette (VHT) none other i have never played a 2204.....

i decided to go for Sozos with coupling caps thou and thats by far the brand that i know? as what you mentioned mustard caps being used are for coupling purposes too?

as for the resistors on turret board i still have no idea on what to put in .... maybe you could give me some insight on what to put?

i could see few "groupings" of resistors and caps connecting to preamp socket and for a 2204 has got only three preamps which is V1 V2 and V3 and only the last preamp V3 is connected to the Preamp gain Pot control? how does the type of resistors changes the voicing of the gain stage? or rather the coupling caps on the turret board as well?

[hopkinWFG]

I don't recommend CC's in higher gain amps like these. Best stick with a good carbon film. Pihers are great if you have the money to find them all, but a more real world quality carbon film would be Koa Speer SPR2 for the 2 watts, and SPR1/2 for the half watts (strange that, eh! )

I love mustards but the price is now ridiculous, especially that of the .68uF's. I'd stick with Sozo's. I'm not keen on the Mallorys (Cornell Dubilier 150 series) as being metallized polyester film, rather than film/foil construction they do behave a little differently.

Another thing I should mention, is you may well prefer the vintage style presence circuit as seen on the Metroamp instructions for the 1959/1987 builds, rather than a 22K lin, 4.7K resistor and .1uF setup. Although it is scratchy in operation (it does have DC across the pot) it does sound better to my ears.

Thanks Demonufo for the add in and discussion i smell this thread is smoking out well lol.... btw whats CC as you described for higher gain amps?

[hopkinWFG]

http://home.comcast.net/~jbjdav26/2204r16.JPG" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

i guess i'll follow this picture stated here to be 2204...so whats on the resistors to choose from?

[demonufo]

Sorry, CC's would be Carbon Composite. They have a habit of being noisy unless you can source particularly good ones, and even then they are prone to drift and getting damp. Potentially very noisy in a higher gain amp like a Master Mk II, especially on the plates. Best avoided imo.

[hopkinWFG]

Well i have found takman CF resistors made in japan and is specialised for audio DIY?...